Monthly Archive for November, 2009

Save the Date and Submit Your Talks – Ignite Portland 8 is March 3, 2010

Published on November 22, 2009 in Posts. Closed

By now, it’s tradition. Even before the flames die down, we wonder when the next Ignite Portland will be. So mark your calendars and save the date – Ignite Portland 8 will take place on March 3, 2010.

Of course, we can’t have an Ignite without *your* burning ideas, and if you attended Ignite Portland 7 in person or vicariously, you probably have lots of great “I should do a talk about *insert topic on which you have passion and authority*” ideas floating around in your head. Now is the perfect time to submit your talk idea – you could get 20 slides and 5 minutes to share your thoughts at Ignite Portland 8! :-)

Open Thread: What Did You Think of Ignite Portland 7?

Published on November 20, 2009 in Posts. 18 Comments

Now that the event is over, it’s time to tell us what you thought about it.

After we do an event, we like to have a thread where you can comment and tell us …

What worked well? (We’ll try not to change those)

Where were the rough spots that we should improve for next time?

So this post is your chance – post a comment below, let us know what you thought of the event, what you liked and give us your suggestions for how to make it better. Just like everything else about Ignite Portland, we need you, our community, to contribute here to make the next one the very best it can be.

Watch Ignite Portland 7 LIVE!

Published on November 19, 2009 in Posts. 3 Comments

Here’s the live stream for Ignite Portland 7, courtesy of video streaming powerhouse and local Portland legend, Doc Normal of Strange Love Live, memePDX, and 30 Hour Day fame. Hang out in the chat, and check out the tweet stream as it flows by (use #ip7 or #igniteportland in your tweets). Enjoy the show! :-)

(player was here, removed because it’s not live anymore, and we’d like the page to load within an hour or so :-)

How To Enjoy Ignite Portland 7

Published on November 17, 2009 in Posts. 2 Comments

Ignite Portland 7 is upon us! This Thursday night, November 19, the Bagdad Theater is *the* place to be in Portland. The talk lineup is awesome (with bonus talks!), admission is free, and you know you want to come. Whether it’s your first Ignite Portland or you’re a grizzled veteran of all seven, here are some important things to know to get the most out of the evening:

  • Doors Open at 5:30PM – No Ticket Needed. Just like last time, there’s no ticket system this time. Too complicated. Just come on down, and we’ll let people in until the Fire Marshall says we can’t anymore. At IP6, we tried this for the first time, and it worked really well. Plenty of room for everyone, no long lines, and improved peace and harmony. So don’t stress about getting in – just come. :-)

  • Bring Some Food and Toys in Support of 30 Hour Day. There are a lot of big-hearted people here in Portland. And we’re proud to be working with the great people at Small Society and the 30 Hour Day project to collect toys for Toys for Tots and food for the Oregon Food Bank. So bring some non-perishable food, or new, unwrapped toys, and drop them off in the lobby. It will do your soul good (or at the very least, make you feel all warm and fuzzy. :-) )
  • Please, No Seat Saving. We know you’re excited to watch the show with all your friends. And maybe they couldn’t make it down as early as you did. But it’s not fair for one person to squat on a whole bunch of seats with coats, etc. so their friends can saunter in late. Please don’t be a jerk about this. We’ll have ushers milling about to help you remember. We want everyone to have a fair chance at getting a good seat. It’s fine to hold a seat for yourself, so you can get up and order drinks/food, but if your friends come a little later, they’ll have to find their own seats. It’s only fair. Thanks for understanding.
  • Live Video Stream. As has become tradition, we’re planning to have a live video stream of the night’s proceedings, this time courtesy of Doc Normal and Strange Love Live. Come back to this site, IgnitePortland.com, on the day of the show, and you’ll see a streaming player where you can watch LIVE and hang out in the chat with the other cool kids who are watching. This is for our friends who couldn’t make it in person to the Bagdad, and for any Ignite Portland fans outside of Portland. :-)
  • Keep the Beer/Food Lines Moving. One of the awesome things about the Badgad Theater is ordering your favorite beverage with a slice of pizza, a burger, or some tots in the lobby, and having them bring it right to your seat inside the theater. Please do order as much food and drink as you’d like. Just try to keep the lines moving smoothly. Doors open at 5:30PM, but the show doesn’t start until 7PM. The smart cookies will get their victuals squared away with time to spare, or grab some food before the show at one of the many nearby restaurants (hint hint).
  • After Party at Back Stage. Everyone loves a good after party. And you’re all invited to Back Stage Bar, right next door to the Bagdad Theater to compare notes with your friends about your favorite IP7 talk, and start rustling up ideas for the killer talk idea you’re going to submit for IP8. Or, just come hang out and have a drink. Back Stage closes at 12AM. Also, odds are that a few folks will make their way for a fried pie nightcap down at @Whiffies on 12th and Hawthorne…
  • Follow @IgnitePortland and Tag Your Stuff “ip7″ or “igniteportland”. Make sure you’re following the @IgnitePortland account on Twitter – we’ll be using it for real time updates on things like how much seating is left, etc. And tag your tweets, pics, videos, and whatever else with ip7 or igniteportland to make it easier for everyone to follow the backchannel, and find the bits that you generate.

Here, in the order in which they’ll appear on stage, are the 19 talks (yes, we lost one of our 3 out of town presenters to travel difficulties) that you’ll see at Ignite Portland 7:

The time is almost upon us! The organizers are stoked, volunteers are ready, and the speakers are probably nervous. But we know it’s going to be great. So come join us at the Bagdad Thursday night, and let’s Ignite Portland for the seventh time! :-)

The Sponsors That Make IP7 Possible

Published on November 13, 2009 in Posts. 1 Comment

IP7 sponsors

Ignite Portland is a community event. It’s organized by volunteers and the costs are covered by generous contributions from within our community.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over two years since the first Ignite’s quaint beginnings. We are lucky and thankful to receive continued contributions from these repeat sponsors:

We’re always looking for new sponsors and we’re grateful the following stepped up to support Ignite for the first time:

It may sound trite, but these folks truly make Ignite Portland possible. When you see them at the event, be sure to thank them.

Take the Party Bus to Ignite Corvallis 2 – Free, Beer, and Wifi!

Published on November 2, 2009 in Posts. 5 Comments

Our friends down south in Corvallis are getting ready for their second Ignite, and gracious hosts that they are, they’ve made it super simple for us Portland folks to come down and enjoy the burning ideas: you can take the free party bus from Portland to Corvallis on Thursday Nov. 5, 2009.

Why call it the party bus? Apparently there will be alcohol. And geeks + alcohol almost always = party. So there you go. Oh, and free wifi, too. Which is what we geeks *really* care about, anyway. :-)

The bus departs the Nines hotel in downtown Portland at 3PM on Thursday 11/5. You can RSVP and get all the details on the bus here, and read Dawn Foster’s blog post for a look at the lineup, and who’s going to be there (hint: some Ignite Portland veterans, like Adam Duvander, will be presenting, and Dawn herself is giving the opening “What is Ignite?” talk).

We wish our fellow Igniters in Corvallis a wonderful evening, and we can’t wait to see the talks. Light it up! :-)